Protecting kidney health in young children with spina bifida
Official title: Urologic Management to Preserve Initial Renal Function Protocol for Young Children with Spina Bifida (UMPIRE)
Funded at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago · NIH-11400834 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests a standardized set of urology 'best practices' aimed at protecting kidney function in infants and young children born with spina bifida.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2019 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2023 |
| Award (this year) | $24,999 |
| NIH project number | 6U01DD001271-05M004 |
| Project ID | NIH-11400834 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Infants and young children diagnosed with spina bifida who are receiving urologic follow-up at participating pediatric centers are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Children without spina bifida, or older adolescents and adults outside the infant/young-child enrollment window, are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
Researchers are enrolling infants and young children with spina bifida at multiple pediatric centers to follow their urinary and kidney health over time. The team uses a standardized UMPIRE protocol of urologic care and collects clinical data including kidney function tests, imaging for scarring or upper-tract changes, bladder function measures, urinary tract infection history, continence status, and any surgical interventions. Data will be correlated with outcomes over several years to identify which management steps best preserve kidney health and reduce complications. Findings will be used to refine the best-practices protocol to improve care across centers.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could produce clearer care guidelines that reduce kidney damage, UTIs, and need for surgery in children with spina bifida.
How similar studies have gone: Previous guideline-driven and single-center efforts have guided care, but this large multi-center protocol linking specific practices to long-term kidney outcomes is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Chu, David — Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
- Study coordinator: Chu, David
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Improving care and outcomes for people living with spina bifida in Wisconsin
A patient-friendly project aims to improve everyday care and health outcomes for people with spina bifida in Wisconsin.
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The National Spina Bifida Patient Registry at University of Pittsburgh
A national registry project at the University of Pittsburgh aims to collect and organize information about people with spina bifida to improve care.
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Improving Care and Outcomes for People Living with Spina Bifida
A patient-friendly project aims to improve how people with spina bifida are cared for and how well they do over time.
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Scoliosis and neurosurgical factors in myelomeningocele: a clinic registry study
This project uses registry data from Penn State’s Spina Bifida Clinic to understand how brain and spine-related issues influence when and why scoliosis surgery is needed in people with myelomeningocele.
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UMPIRE: Better Urologic Care for Babies with Spina Bifida
This grant tests how to best protect kidney function in newborns with spina bifida by comparing and refining urologic care practices across multiple hospitals.
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Spina Bifida Collaborative Care Network to Improve Outcomes
A national program is expanding coordinated care networks and a patient registry to help people with Spina Bifida get better, more consistent care.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.